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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
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3 Months Ended | ||||||||||||
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Mar. 29, 2015
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
NOTE 10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
We are subject to numerous lawsuits and claims arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including actions related to product liability; personal injury; the use and performance of our products; warranty matters; patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement; contractual liability; the conduct of our business; tax reporting in foreign jurisdictions; distributor termination; workplace safety; and environmental matters. We also have been identified as a potentially responsible party at multiple waste disposal sites under U.S. federal and related state environmental statutes and regulations and may have joint and several liability for any investigation and remediation costs incurred with respect to such sites. We have denied liability with respect to many of these lawsuits, claims and proceedings and are vigorously defending such lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We carry various forms of commercial, property and casualty, product liability and other forms of insurance; however, such insurance may not be applicable or adequate to cover the costs associated with a judgment against us with respect to these lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We do not believe that these lawsuits are material individually or in the aggregate. While we believe we have also established adequate accruals for our expected future liability with respect to pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings, where the nature and extent of any such liability can be reasonably estimated based upon then presently available information, there can be no assurance that the final resolution of any existing or future lawsuits, claims or proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
We conduct significant business operations in Brazil that are subject to the Brazilian federal, state and local labor, social security, tax and customs laws. While we believe we comply with such laws, they are complex, subject to varying interpretations and we are often engaged in litigation regarding the application of these laws to particular circumstances.
U.S. Distributor Commitments
Our distribution agreements with independent and partially-owned distributors generally have a renewable three-year term and are restricted to specified territories. Our distributors develop and maintain a network of dealers with which we have no direct relationship. Our distributors are permitted to sell other, noncompetitive products only with our consent. We license all of our distributors to use our name and logo in connection with the sale and service of our products, with no right to assign or sublicense the trademarks, except to authorized dealers, without our consent. Products are sold to the distributors at standard domestic or international distributor net prices, as applicable. Net prices are wholesale prices we establish to permit our distributors an adequate margin on their sales. Subject to local laws, we can generally refuse to renew these agreements upon expiration or terminate them upon written notice for inadequate sales, change in principal ownership and certain other reasons. Distributors also have the right to terminate the agreements upon 60-day notice without cause, or 30-day notice for cause. Upon termination or failure to renew, we are required to purchase the distributor’s current inventory, signage and special tools and may, at our option purchase other assets of the distributor, but are under no obligation to do so.
Other Guarantees and Commitments
In addition to the matters discussed above, from time to time we enter into other guarantee arrangements, including guarantees of non-U.S. distributor financings, residual value guarantees on equipment under operating leases and other miscellaneous guarantees of third-party obligations. As of March 29, 2015, the maximum potential loss related to these other guarantees was $5 million.
We have arrangements with certain suppliers that require us to purchase minimum volumes or be subject to monetary penalties. The penalty amounts are less than our purchase commitments and essentially allow the supplier to recover their tooling costs in most instances. As of March 29, 2015, if we were to stop purchasing from each of these suppliers, the aggregate amount of the penalty would be approximately $70 million, of which $36 million relates to a contract with an engine parts supplier that extends to 2016. These arrangements enable us to secure critical components. We do not currently anticipate paying any penalties under these contracts.
During 2014, we began entering into physical forward contracts with suppliers of platinum and palladium to purchase minimum volumes of the commodities at contractually stated prices for various periods, not to exceed two years. As of March 29, 2015, the total commitments under these contracts were $55 million. These arrangements enable us to fix the prices of these commodities, which otherwise are subject to market volatility.
We have guarantees with certain customers that require us to satisfactorily honor contractual or regulatory obligations, or compensate for monetary losses related to nonperformance. These performance bonds and other performance-related guarantees were $73 million at March 29, 2015 and $76 million at December 31, 2014.
Indemnifications
Periodically, we enter into various contractual arrangements where we agree to indemnify a third-party against certain types of losses. Common types of indemnities include:
We regularly evaluate the probability of having to incur costs associated with these indemnities and accrue for expected losses that are probable. Because the indemnifications are not related to specified known liabilities and due to their uncertain nature, we are unable to estimate the maximum amount of the potential loss associated with these indemnifications.
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